Cipriani is inspiring Geraghty's Euro battle

Catt, the Exiles' backs coach and still a key member of the team, said: "Shane is ready to come back after being out for some time and that is a massive boost going into this huge test against Perpignan. It is an incredibly exciting prospect to think of Danny and Shane in the England midfield in the future.

"I have worked with Shane for the last two years and watched him develop into a real talent and he's looking very sharp. I am sure Shane has been watching what Danny has been doing for England and Wasps in the last couple of months and is saying to himself 'I need to get what he is getting' in terms of attention and success.

"That will be motivating him going into this match and he really is a fantastic guy to have around the club; always ready to learn and work hard at his game and he is really maturing."

Geraghty and Catt are key figures in the Irish game plan, which revolves around keeping the tempo high and the ball away from a massive Perpignan side, which features Scotland lock Nathan Hines and powerhouse Samoan No8 Henry Tuilagi, while the French side's backs include South African World Cup winner Percy Montgomery.

England prop Perry Freshwater will be playing at the Madejski stadium and his presence will ensure plenty of boos from the Irish crowd, who have not forgiven the Perpignan player for using his elbow to break Keiron Roche's eye socket when the team met in France in the pool stages.

Freshwater was banned while Roche took months to recover his full sight and is now back playing, although injury keeps him out of the match.

Catt believes experienced referee Alain Rolland will ensure the match does not become a bloodbath and said: "Our coaches have been saying we have to win this one for Rochey and what happened in the last game was bad. However, we are not going to take a backwards step against Perpignan on Saturday and our pack has done really well against Bath and Wasps, who are two very physical teams up front.

"We know they want to catch and drive off the line-out and use Tuilagi to batter forward. If you can stop him then their momentum is taken away and we believe we can do some damage."